do-you-know-how-long-alcohol-stays-in-your-blood
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Do You Know How Long Alcohol Stays in Your Blood?
Do You Know How Long Alcohol Stays in Your Blood?
Last Reviewed : 12/17/2020
The level of alcohol in the body is measured by blood alcohol concentration. Average blood alcohol concentration for one ounce of alcohol is about 0.015. The permissible legal level of alcohol is around 0.08 mg/dl. At this level of alcohol concentration in the body, you can safely drive home.
10% of the alcohol is excretedby breath, perspiration, and urine. 90% of it is metabolized by the liver. The metabolism of alcohol depends on various factors like age, gender, the type of alcohol consumed, the quantity of food that was eaten, and the strength of the alcohol.
There are various measures by which alcohol concentration is measured.
|
Type of test |
Duration for metabolism |
|
|
Breath |
24 hours |
|
|
Saliva swab |
10-24 hours |
|
|
Urine (drug test) |
48 hours but can be between 12-36 hours. However, most advanced urine tests can also detect up to 80 hours after the last drink. |
|
|
Hair |
90 days after the alcohol was consumed. |
The blood alcohol concentration and metabolism also depend on the type of alcohol ingested.
|
Type of alcohol |
Time taken for metabolism
|
|
|
Small shots of liquor |
1 hour |
|
|
Pint of Beer |
2 hours |
|
|
Largeglass of wine |
3 hours |
|
|
Few drinks |
Several hours |
The duration taken for metabolism is dependent upon various factors. That should be kept in mind while approximating the time taken to reach the minimal blood alcohol concentration.
